英検2級best before・use by・sell byの違い｜賞味期限・消費期限・食品ロスの独自4長文40問【全訳】

best before・use by・sell byの意味と使い方

公式の食品安全情報：消費者庁：食品の期限表示に関する情報。実際の食品では各商品の表示・保存方法に従ってください。best beforeは「過ぎたら必ず食べられない」とは限りませんが、表示を過ぎた食品の状態は個別に確認が必要です。

英検協会の2級試験内容では、長文内容一致8問にEメール・説明文が含まれ、食事や自然・環境も主な話題です。本教材は追加演習で公式過去問ではありません。

独自長文1｜学校の食品寄付｜best beforeとuse byの区別

School Food Donation Day A school is collecting unopened food for a community pantry. The organizers ask students to check date labels carefully. Items labeled “use by” must not be accepted after that date, even if the package looks normal. A “best before” date mainly refers to the period during which an unopened food is expected to maintain its best quality when stored correctly. Passing that date does not automatically mean the food became unsafe at midnight. The pantry’s collection rules are stricter than general definitions. For this particular event, organizers accept unopened dry goods only when the best-before date is at least thirty days in the future. They do not accept homemade meals or refrigerated fresh food. On June 1, a student brings three unopened items: rice with a best-before date of August 15, crackers with a best-before date of June 20, and fresh salad marked use by May 31. Under the event’s rules, only the rice is eligible. The crackers have fewer than thirty days remaining, and the salad is past its use-by date. The organizers remind students that food safety depends on storage conditions as well as dates. A package damaged by water will not be accepted even if its date has not passed.

内容一致・保存条件・数値を読む10問

問1｜What kinds of products is the school collecting?

1. Opened homemade meals
2. Unopened food for a community pantry
3. Only frozen meat
4. Used cooking equipment

問2｜What does the label use by mainly concern in the passage?

1. The package design
2. The supermarket’s profit
3. The food’s advertised flavor
4. A deadline after which the food should not be accepted or consumed

問3｜What does best before mainly indicate?

1. The expected period of best quality under stated storage conditions
2. The exact day food is always dangerous
3. An unlimited period for opened food
4. The day an item must be donated

問4｜How much time must remain before the best-before date under this event’s rules?

1. Five days
2. Fourteen days
3. At least thirty days
4. At least one year

問5｜Which type of food is excluded regardless of its date?

1. Unopened rice
2. Homemade meals
3. Unopened crackers with sufficient remaining date
4. Unopened dry beans within policy

問6｜On what date were the three items brought?

1. June 1
2. May 31
3. June 20
4. August 15

問7｜What is the rice’s best-before date?

1. May 31
2. June 1
3. June 20
4. August 15

問8｜Which item is eligible for collection under the stated rules?

1. The salad
2. The crackers
3. The rice
4. All three

問9｜Why are the crackers excluded?

1. They have fewer than thirty days left until their best-before date
2. They have a use-by date before June 1
3. They are homemade meals
4. Their package was opened

問10｜What happens to a package damaged by water?

1. It is accepted if it is heavy
2. It is rejected even if its date is valid
3. It is accepted after being relabeled
4. It is automatically considered fresh

独自長文2｜科学キャンプの保冷輸送｜keep refrigerated・opened・use by

Food Storage at a Weekend Science Camp A weekend science camp provides prepared lunches for participants. The lunch supplier explains that date labels assume the products have been stored according to the instructions and, where appropriate, remain unopened. A use-by date does not guarantee safety if a perishable product has been kept at an unsuitable temperature. The camp receives eighty sealed sandwiches on Friday morning. Each package says “keep refrigerated” and “use by Saturday.” Staff immediately put the sandwiches in an approved refrigerator and record the delivery temperature. On Saturday morning, they find that the refrigerator door was left open overnight. They cannot confirm that the sandwiches remained at the required temperature. The camp manager decides not to serve those sandwiches. Their use-by date has not passed, but the necessary storage condition may not have been met. The manager orders fresh lunches from another supplier instead. This change costs the camp additional money, but it avoids relying only on the printed date. An unopened carton of shelf-stable fruit juice, which the manufacturer says may be stored at room temperature before opening, remains in a separate storage cabinet. Staff follow the juice label and arrange refrigeration after opening, as instructed. The camp will review its door-check procedure before the next event.

内容一致・保存条件・数値を読む10問

問11｜What does the passage say about printed date labels?

1. They replace all storage instructions
2. They apply to every opened product forever
3. They assume required storage conditions are followed
4. They show the exact delivery time

問12｜How many sealed sandwiches did the camp receive?

1. Eighty
2. Forty
3. One hundred
4. Twenty

問13｜When did the camp receive the sandwiches?

1. Saturday evening
2. Sunday morning
3. Thursday night
4. Friday morning

問14｜What storage instruction appeared on the sandwiches?

1. Keep at room temperature for a week
2. Keep refrigerated
3. Freeze only after opening
4. Store outside overnight

問15｜What was the sandwiches’ use-by date?

1. Friday
2. Sunday
3. Saturday
4. Monday

問16｜What problem did staff discover on Saturday morning?

1. The refrigerator door had been left open overnight
2. The supplier delivered too many juices
3. The labels were printed in another language
4. The sandwich packets had no dates

問17｜Why did the manager decide not to serve the sandwiches?

1. The sandwiches were always too expensive
2. The date showed they had expired on Friday
3. A new menu was required by all students
4. Safe storage temperature could not be confirmed

問18｜What did the manager do instead?

1. Serve all sandwiches without checking
2. Order fresh lunches from another supplier
3. Cancel the camp permanently
4. Replace lunch with printed posters

問19｜Where was the unopened shelf-stable juice stored?

1. In the open refrigerator
2. On a bus overnight
3. In a separate storage cabinet
4. Outside in direct sunlight

問20｜What is planned before the next event?

1. A review of the refrigerator-door check procedure
2. A ban on all fruit juice
3. A new building for the science camp
4. The purchase of an extra bus

独自長文3｜スーパーの値引き表示｜sell byとbest before

Understanding Labels at a Neighborhood Store A neighborhood grocery shop is trying to reduce unnecessary food waste without ignoring food safety. The manager explains to new employees that a “sell by” date, where used, can guide store stock management. It does not necessarily have the same meaning as a consumer use-by date. Staff must understand the specific product labels and local rules rather than assuming every date has the same purpose. On Tuesday, the store has sixty unopened packets of dry cereal labeled “best before Friday.” Under the store’s policy, these may be sold at a discount before Friday if the packages are undamaged and stored correctly. A discount does not mean that the date is already past. The store also has twenty fresh meals labeled “use by Tuesday.” The manager does not extend the use-by date or replace it with a new sticker. Any fresh meals not safely sold within the permitted period are handled under the store’s food-safety procedure; they are not re-labeled and sold later. To plan future orders, staff compare sales records from the past four weeks. They discover that the store ordered more fresh meals than customers normally purchased on weekday evenings. The manager decides to test a smaller order quantity rather than assume discounts alone will solve the problem.

内容一致・保存条件・数値を読む10問

問21｜What is one possible purpose of a sell-by date?

1. Showing the exact date a consumer must eat every item
2. Indicating the store’s stock-management timing
3. Proving a product was already sold
4. Replacing all storage instructions

問22｜Should staff assume that all date labels have the same meaning?

1. Yes, every label means use by
2. Yes, if the product is discounted
3. Yes, if a date is printed in English
4. No, labels and local rules must be checked

問23｜How many dry cereal packets does the store have on Tuesday?

1. Sixty
2. Twenty
3. Four
4. Eighty

問24｜What is the cereal’s stated best-before day?

1. Tuesday
2. Wednesday
3. Friday
4. Sunday

問25｜Under what condition can the cereal be discounted before Friday?

1. Even if the packaging is damaged and storage unknown
2. If unopened packages are undamaged and correctly stored
3. Only after the best-before date has passed
4. Only if it is relabeled use by

問26｜What does a discount NOT necessarily mean?

1. The product is past its date
2. The shop changed its price
3. The store wants to reduce waste
4. The cereal is part of stock

問27｜How many fresh meals carry a use-by date of Tuesday?

1. Sixty
2. Four
3. Forty
4. Twenty

問28｜What does the manager refuse to do to those meals?

1. Record the number in stock
2. Follow the store’s safety procedure
3. Extend or replace their use-by labels
4. Check the date before selling

問29｜What did the four-week sales records show?

1. More meals were sold at night than the store ordered
2. Too many fresh meals were ordered for ordinary weekday-evening demand
3. No dry cereal was ever sold
4. Every fresh meal sold out at every opening

問30｜What change will the manager test?

1. Ordering a smaller quantity of fresh meals
2. Increasing every order immediately
3. Selling foods after relabeling expired dates
4. Stopping all recordkeeping

独自長文4｜食品ロスと学校の調査｜quality・safety・storage

What Causes Food Waste at School? A student research team surveyed families about food waste. The team found that many respondents did not understand the difference between best-before and use-by labels. Some mistakenly thought that every best-before date was a deadline after which the food would immediately become unsafe. The students wrote a short guide explaining that a best-before date usually concerns expected quality under the stated storage conditions, whereas a use-by date on highly perishable food is more closely related to safety. They also explained that dates printed for unopened packages do not automatically describe how long a product stays suitable after being opened. The team did not encourage anyone to eat food past its use-by date. Instead, it recommended planning purchases, checking storage instructions, and preparing realistic amounts of food. A school cafeteria then tested allowing students to choose smaller or regular portions. During a two-week trial, the amount of food left on plates decreased from an average of 18 kilograms per day to 12 kilograms per day. The students concluded that portion choice might reduce plate waste in their cafeteria. However, they had not checked whether the improvement would continue for an entire school year. They suggested repeating the study and measuring whether students still received enough food.

内容一致・保存条件・数値を読む10問

問31｜What did many survey respondents misunderstand?

1. How to read school bus routes
2. The dates of English examinations
3. The difference between best-before and use-by labels
4. The cost of a science festival

問32｜What mistaken belief did some people have?

1. Every food becomes immediately unsafe after its best-before date
2. Use-by dates always refer to books
3. Opening a package never matters
4. All food is completely safe regardless of storage

問33｜What does a best-before date usually concern?

1. A school’s lunch schedule
2. The time the store opens
3. A student’s meal choice
4. Expected food quality under storage conditions

問34｜What did the guide say about dates on unopened products?

1. They apply forever after opening
2. They do not automatically specify suitability after opening
3. They have no connection to storage conditions
4. They guarantee food is safe even when badly stored

問35｜Did the team advise eating food past use-by dates?

1. Yes, for every product
2. Yes, whenever food looks normal
3. No
4. Only if the cafeteria offers a discount

問36｜What choice did the school cafeteria test?

1. Smaller or regular portions
2. Two different building locations
3. A new type of food label
4. The price of meal tickets

問37｜How long did the portion-choice trial last?

1. One day
2. One month
3. An entire year
4. Two weeks

問38｜What was the average daily plate waste before the trial?

1. 12 kilograms
2. 18 kilograms
3. 6 kilograms
4. 30 kilograms

問39｜How large was the reduction in average daily plate waste?

1. 18 kg
2. 12 kg
3. 6 kg
4. 30 kg

問40｜What remains uncertain after the trial?

1. Whether the improvement would continue for a full school year
2. Whether a two-week test took place
3. Whether the school has a cafeteria
4. Whether students can choose a smaller portion

40問の正答一覧

長文1：1B／2D／3A／4C／5B／6A／7D／8C／9A／10B

長文2：11C／12A／13D／14B／15C／16A／17D／18B／19C／20A

長文3：21B／22D／23A／24C／25B／26A／27D／28C／29B／30A

長文4：31C／32A／33D／34B／35C／36A／37D／38B／39C／40A

読解を確実にする3つの確認

「どの種類の期限か」「未開封か・開封後か」「指定された保管条件を満たしているか」を必ず区別します。次に「一般的な期限の意味」と「寄付イベント・店舗が独自に設定した受入れ条件」を分けて読みましょう。英検2級の4択では、always / never / only / automaticallyなど強い断定の選択肢を本文で確認することが重要です。

7日間の復習

1日目に全40問に挑戦。2日目は日付・数・包装・保存方法を各英文から抽出。4日目はprovided that, even if, rather than, howeverを含む文を構文分析します。7日目に誤答を再確認し、各長文を60秒で日本語要約できるか検証します。

FAQ

best beforeを過ぎたらすべて危険ですか？

賞味期限は適切に保存された未開封食品の品質に関する日付です。過ぎても必ずしも直ちに危険とは限りませんが、実際の食品は表示や状態を確認してください。

use byを過ぎた食品は食べてもよいですか？

消費期限を過ぎた食品は食べないでください。日付だけでなく保存条件が守られたかも重要です。

開封後も印刷された賞味期限まで品質は保証されますか？

一般に期限表示は未開封と指定の保存方法が前提です。開封後は表示日まで持つことが自動的に保証されるわけではありません。

本記事の40問は英検公式問題ですか？

いいえ。慶英会が独自に作成した英文と設問です。

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参照した主な公式情報

英検協会・2級試験内容、消費者庁・食品の期限表示に関する情報。英文・数字・学校・設問・訳は慶英会オリジナルです。